The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1887-02-19

1.-THE salvage OF the cargo OF tue VI
egon was one of the greatest pieces OF
work of the kind ever performed. not
30 much on account of the depth OF the
water as because of the locality and the
steady continuance Of the work. often
under exceedingly adverse circum-
stances. Lots of divers go down twenty
fathoms for few minutes ut q time Oh
some quick job, but staying down at |,
that depth and working is quite diff
ferent matter. Some OF our divers |
stayed down forty five and even sixty /
minutes, but the usual time was from
thirty to forty minutes. AS rule. we !
did not allow them to stay down as long
as they wished to after they had become /
accustomed to the work. for there was
always the danger that il man was
too long subjected to sixty or sixty.two
pounds to the square inch, that had to
be maintained at that depth. it might
break him all up for several days. How
break him up?' Well. it seemed to
paralyze them. Sometimes man
would come up with no control at all
of an arm or leg. 1t would hang as
if dead. In few days it would come
all right, but the sensation, while it
lasted, must have been rather dis
quieting. Then, when there was not
actual paralysis of one or more limbs
there were apt to be sharp pains and
aches. Some of the men who started
| in diving there could not stand the
work, and had to give it up; but those
who stuck to it seemed to grow accus-
toned to it and did not complain
at all after little while But they
were an exceptionally good lot OF
men. and we took the best posi-
BILE care of them. When q man
would come up and his hemlet and
armor were taken of. he would be
thoroughly rubbed all over. walked up
and down the deck for little bit, get
good drink of brandy. and then he
lay down to sleep for an hour. when he
would be quite fresh and ready to go
down again. Two would go down
while one was resting.
1--WE had altogether fourteen divers
when we started, but half dozen OF
them could not stand the work, and
our average force of divers was eight.
They worked in two separate and en-
tireiy distinct expeditions, each of
which had a schooner to operate from,
and there was also a steamer, to take
care of and tend them. When the
weather was so violent that it was i'm
possible to work on the wreck, the
steamer would take the schooners into
Fire Island Inlet to wait for more pro-
pitious skies. But the distance was 30
great, involving so much loss OF time
J IN going to and fro, that we only left
our ground when the necessity was
most imperative. Often we took in
cargo when the schooners were pitch
ing and rolling with such violence in
the angry waves that they were taking
water over their rails on alternate sides
at every roll. Perhaps we even took
, some desperate chances, but we had to
, do so or suffer interminable delays. As
, | it was, we. have had to lose as much as
l three weeks at stretch waiting for q
I change in the weather.
, Another danger we had to en-
counter, that was not little one, wa
q that of being run down by steamers in
the fogs that were quite frequent. W.
9 were right in their track. and hat
! several very narrow escapes.
'Sharks?' o, yes, we saw sharks
: there, but they did not make any
: trouble. OF course it makes mar
!. feel little uncomfortable away dowr
|. in the sea, to have a great shadow
: gliding over him aud know that it il
!, made by q huge. ravenous fish, tina
= could bite him in two if it dared ant
: considered it worth while. But thu
! sharks are more afraid of the diver
I than the divers are Of the sharks.
: real diver isn't afraid of q shark. OIL,
!. the divers that dive about gin mill
!, have the terrible shark experiences
!, Aside from sharks, the water about tn
a Oregon wreck fairly swarmed with fish
! There were myriads of them; good BIZ
!, ones and excellent eating, too. as W
= found, but / don't remember thei
3 names.
d ".AccidentsP' No. With expert
/. enced skill, conscientious care. an
; Intelligence in conducting diving opers
n tons they need not be attended wit
any more danger of accident-or nc
II much more at least - than any heav
o work on land. Our powerful al
Is pumps, driven by steam, forced the ai
e into tanks, whence it was admitted t
n the divers hose by nicely regulate
system of gauges and cocks that con
II trolled the pressure to a nicely, an
/, that was allssunder the care Of exper
3 enced and very careful men, in whoI
re the divers below had the utmost conf
N dence. It is great help to diver
Is have his mind clear of all anxiety abol
as what is going on up at the pumps. H
10 knows then that all he has to look OF
W for is to take care that his hose an
Id life line do not get entangled an
d. that he does not himself get jamme
to among the cargo. Very often we ha
h to have one man ON deck to attend
til the hose and life line of another .
work in the hold five fathoms below
rs to see that the strong current did nj
at sweep them away to where they woul